How To Train Your Dragon was unquestionably one of the best animated films of last year, even if Toy Story 3 keeps pipping it to the Best Animated prizes this awards season. So it's with a song in our heart that we bring you the latest news on How To Train Your Dragon 2, with co-director Dean DeBlois confirming that all is shaping up well.

"What I presented to them was the second act of a much larger story," says DeBlois. "So the film takes on much more breadth, it's really quite epic. We leave the first film with these Vikings on the backs of dragons, so the world just opens up and expands exponentially."

The main voice cast was already confirmed to return, including Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), Craig Ferguson (Belch), America Ferrera (Astrid), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fishlegs), Jonah Hill (Snotlout), TJ Miller (Ruffnut) and Kristen Wiig (Tuffnut). But now the last major holdout, Gerard Butler, has signed on according to DeBlois, and cinematographer Roger Deakins (a BAFTA winner last night) is back to consult on the lighting. Check out the full interview below.

All sounds promising, eh? How To Train Your Dragon 2 is out in the summer of 2013, which by our count is not nearly soon enough.